Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Doodle by Any Other Name

As a young school girl, I was an incorrigible doodler. I would fill up every available empty space in text books and notebooks with drawings of flowers, leaves and butterflies. It annoyed my mother very much and she would remark "scribbling hand means an empty head". Contemporary mind-body research confirms that she was right but not exactly in the way she meant it. I am not sure what caused me to be such a doodler but the habit has continued. The photo above on right is a page from a notebook from the 80's when as a young homemaker on a tight budget I used to keep detailed account of income and expenses. Perhaps, it was worry or hopefulness about money that caused me to doodle flowers around the numbers. I doodle a lot while in meetings not out of boredom but to hear closely what is being said or not said. I also doodle while thinking through a difficult problem. I have noticed that I don't break out for doodling while making art!

Today, doodling has not just achieved mainstream respectability but has even been elevated into a spiritual movement, albeit with a great commercial potential. It has metamorphosed from childhood deviancy to therapy for senior citizens. Along the way, it has acquired a prefix (Zen) and a couple of suffixes (tangle, art).

Whatever it is, I am happy to be part of it. I wonder what my mother would say to the fact I have even published my doodle art in a prestigious mixed-media magazine (photo above on the left in Zen Doodle Workshop from Cloth Paper Scissors, Summer 2015). I have a feeling she will be proud no matter what her personal opinion about it was.

If you want to see more of my "doodle art", click on the Zentangle Inspired Art tab at the top of the page or click on this link.

A scribbling hand may mean an empty head BUT A FULL HEART. :) I love your doodles Indira & I also love that you donate proceeds of your art to handicapped children & adults. So much we can do in this world to leave it a better place. Thank you for sharing! xx